Gathering Intelligence, What They Saw at the Electronics Store, Part Six

"But you're totally into this, aren't you? You're clearly pretty shaken. Loli~con~kun~"

"N-no, that's just because I'm going through puberty. I'm a perfectly normal guy, too."

"Besides, the definition of a 'loli' in [***] is a young girl, generally between nine and fourteen, whose body is just starting to develop. You're already sixteen, aren't you? Even if your body hasn't developed, don't try to pass yourself off as a loli!"

The moment she said it, Hoshino En regretted it.

Hoshino En: ...!!!

Crap, I got carried away and let that slip!

Tsk. Was my immunity to women wearing off because my body was starting to develop secondary sex characteristics?

Atmosphere Group: "..."

What a fierce battle. What a shocking scene. Wu

And what a miserable corpse. Qi

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..." Lu

Sakayanagi Arisu said nothing, but the amusement had vanished from her eyes.

She raised her cane and swung it at Hoshino En across the table.

She wasn't moving quickly, and Hoshino En could easily have dodged. But by his reckoning, taking the blow here would cost him the least and get the best results.

So—

That sounded like a solid hit.

"Yikes! Wait... Aren't you supposed to be frail? Why did that hurt so much?"

"I didn't expect you not to dodge..."

Just as Hoshino En had predicted, the moment Sakayanagi Arisu saw him clutching his head, her mood improved.

"Anyway, the reason..."

"What reason? You hit me so hard, there's no story today!"

"Aw..."

Atmosphere Group: "..."

Damn, they were just going to let that slide?

Still, it was probably for the best. Karuizawa Kei, Ichinose Honami, and Kushida Kikyo all breathed a sigh of relief.

What would they do if the conversation turned to them? They couldn't just laugh it off and get out of it.

"It's getting late. Have your servants take you to dinner. I've got things to do."

After polishing off his dessert and finishing his coffee, Hoshino En stood up to leave.

They'd covered everything that needed saying. It was time for everyone to go their separate ways.

"Aww, Boyfriend-kun, aren't you staying to have dinner with Arisu?"

"Obviously not. I'm busy. I've already spent as much time with you as I can today. And how long are you planning to keep up this role-play?"

"But I remember you were the one who kept chasing after me at first, Hoshino-kun. Now that you've gotten what you wanted, you're abandoning me. That's a pretty awful way for a scumbag boyfriend to act."

"If you leave me here, I'm sure the righteous Classmate Ichinose and Classmate Kushida won't just sit by and do nothing."

Ichinose Honami & Kushida Kikyo: ...!!!

Seriously, not again?!

"Hoshino-kun, now that we know what Classmate Sakayanagi is really like, you don't have to worry about us misunderstanding you."

Kushida Kikyo hurried to clear things up. She spoke so quickly that Ichinose Honami could only chime in after her.

"That's right, that's right."

Hoshino En: "..."

"Sigh..."

He'd known it all along. These two were no match for Sakayanagi Arisu. If he left, she'd probably talk them into a corner in no time.

Ichinose Honami & Kushida Kikyo: ...Why is he sighing? And why does he look so helpless?

Are we really that hard to trust?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Hoshino En paid the bill, then walked over to Sakayanagi Arisu and held out his right hand.

"So, miss, what would you like for dinner?"

Ichinose Honami and Kushida Kikyo stared in shock, Karuizawa Kei looked jealous, and Wang Meiyu was completely baffled.

How had things ended up like this??

"Hehe~ Boyfriend-kun really does love me after all..."

Sakayanagi Arisu smugly taunted the three losers beside her, then placed her left hand in Hoshino En's right.

"I want to hear another story later!"

"Don't make unreasonable requests. We'll go back as soon as we've eaten."

Though he gently and gracefully took the girl's hand with his right, Hoshino En's free left hand wasn't idle. He lightly chopped the top of Sakayanagi Arisu's head.

"You're already in poor health, and you've been fooling around with me all day. Go home early tonight, wash up, and get some sleep. Don't go scheming again."

"It's still early, anyway. You don't need to jump straight into the class competition. Why not enjoy the school life you've only just gotten?"

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."

But instead of firing back with the sharp words he expected, Hoshino En was met with a bashful, silver-haired, frail little girl, her pretty face tinged pink.

"W-what's wrong? You..."

"Hoshino-kun, there are some things you shouldn't say so casually to a girl."

This time, it wasn't Sakayanagi Arisu who answered him. It was Ichinose Honami.

"You should be a little more mindful of boundaries!"

Her tone was stern, leaving Hoshino En utterly bewildered.

"But... I only gave her a light tap on the head. It was much gentler than the blow she gave me. I, uh..."

"That's not what I mean..."

"All right, Ichinose, don't get so worked up. I haven't even said anything yet."

Sakayanagi Arisu finally rebooted. She gave Ichinose Honami, who had jumped in, a teasing smile.

"Or is there something else on your mind, since you jumped in so quickly?"

"I..."

Ichinose Honami fell silent.

Hoshino En: "..."

"Ichinose, let's add each other. Get in touch with me later."

He held up his phone.

Ichinose Honami: ...!

Beep—

She quickly added Hoshino En as a friend, then immediately left with Shiranami Chihiro, who had been waiting in the corner.

She didn't look back. Her retreating figure was resolute.

Sakayanagi Arisu: ...!!

"Boyfriend-kun, flirting with another woman right in front of your girlfriend is a serious demerit, you know."

"I didn't do anything. I just added her as a friend."

As he spoke, Hoshino En started to put his phone away.

"Wait, Hoshino-kun!"

Just then, the next challenger stepped forward. Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes.

It was Karuizawa Kei.

"Hoshino-kun, um... could we add each other?"

She held out her phone, displaying her friend-request QR code.

Beep—

After adding him, Karuizawa Kei quickly scurried back to her friends. Not long after, the four members of the Karuizawa group left the café.

After watching Karuizawa Kei leave, Hoshino En turned to the only little white rabbit left, Wang Meiyu, and showed her his friend-request QR code.

"Want to add me?"

"N-no, I'm fine."

Like a startled wild rabbit, she hurriedly left with her "own kind."

"Ah, Hoshino-kun, see you tomorrow."

Kushida Kikyo tossed out the words, then left with Wang Meiyu before he could reply.

"See you tomorrow..."

Watching them hurry away, Hoshino En put his phone away, feeling inexplicably dejected.

"Did I make them hate me?"

He didn't care about his reputation, but being called out to his face still left him feeling a little down.

It was a shame Wang was too gentle. Otherwise, he could have struck back in a way that was both [justified] and [reasonable].

There were ways to do it without being [justified and reasonable], but that would only bring trouble later.

And as someone who hated trouble, getting tangled up in it was far worse than being stuck with these negative feelings.

So... he'd let it go.

"Hoshino-kun."

Sakayanagi Arisu, still holding his right hand, shook her head helplessly at his reaction.

"What?"

"...No, nothing."

"Oh. What should we do with these desserts? More accurately, the ones we haven't even touched?"

Hoshino En nodded toward the desserts on the table.

"I don't have a spare hand to carry them for you."

"That's all right. Someone else can carry them."

Sakayanagi Arisu, still seated, waved her phone.

The next second, the bell above the café door rang clearly, and three figures filed in.

A frivolous blonde, a gloomy curly-haired boy, and a hot-tempered girl with a hairpin.

They were Sakayanagi Arisu's little dogs and followers who had been trailing them earlier. Si

First Semester of First Year

Chapter 14: Gathering Intelligence, What They Saw at the Electronics Store, Part Six

From Sakayanagi Arisu, Hoshino En learned the names of the three: Kamuro Masumi, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and Kito Hayato.

The three came in and obediently stood to one side without Sakayanagi Arisu's orders, but they never stopped sizing up Hoshino En.

They were watching Hoshino En, and he was watching them, too.

The girl with the hairpin—Kamuro Masumi—stared straight at them. Even when she realized she'd been caught, she didn't look away. She was probably pretty direct, but not much of a judge of character. The muscles in her exposed thighs looked strong, though, so she was probably in good shape.

The blonde, Hashimoto Masayoshi, had a more shifty gaze. He was probably smooth and calculating, with plenty of little schemes up his sleeve. He seemed like the kind of person who put his own interests first. Neighboring.